Bake with Jill

I’ve made quite a few brownie recipes with the Tuesdays with Dorie group, and a few more on my own. I’m not going to scientifically rank them all, but I will say that these brownies are at the top of my list!

Chocolatey (of course), and tender with a crackly crust. Perfect with a cappuccino!

Thank you Leslie for this great selection! Leslie is a chocolate lover extraordinaire, so it’s fitting that she is hosting this recipe. Since TWD is coming to an end, the group is doubling up on recipes in November. The other recipe for this week, which unfortunately I didn’t get around to making, is Alsatian Apple Tart, selected by Jessica of Cookbookhabit. Be sure to check out her blog today if you want to know more about the tart.

What I did:

• I made half the recipe in an 8″ square pan.
• I used Jacques Torres 60% chocolate disks. Sadly, my discs are almost gone; I’ll be buying more though, because everything that I baked using this chocolate turned out wonderful!
• I added the optional espresso powder, which enhanced the chocolate, but didn’t give them a coffee flavor.
  
• I think I baked these for 22 minutes.
  

How it went: I melted the chocolate and butter in the microwave instead of on the stove, which I think is quicker and easier than doing it on the stove, though it’s important to go slowly and keep an eye on it. They were quick and easy to mix up, and pretty quick to bake. And they got a thin, crackly crust on top just like they were supposed to!

How it tasted: I really liked the taste and texture of these. They’re soft and tender, but not crumbly. They melt in your mouth! No nuts, chunks, or other flavorings; just delicious chocolate. My husband declared them “silky smooth.” I also gave some to our neighbor – he was helping to relocate a pile of dirt one day and he said “you owe me some vittles.” I know he likes brownies, so these had his name on them.

Want to give these a whirl? Open your copy of Baking: From My Home to Yours to page 90, or head over to Lethally Delicious to take a look at the recipe and see how Leslie’s brownies turned out.

I’ve got a lot going on in November! I’ve scheduled a few posts, but I won’t be getting around to everyone’s blogs this  month. I’ll catch up with you in December!

What’s a Brrrr-ownie? A mint brownie, of course! Specifically, it’s a rich, fudgy brownie packed with chocolate-covered mints, and it’s what Karen selected for the Tuesdays with Dorie bakers this week.

What I did:

• I made 1/2 recipe and baked it in a 6″ round pan.
• I used Junior Mints instead of York Peppermint Patties. Yes, I know that Dorie goes on at length about York Peppermint Patties; I used Junior Mints because they came in a 4oz package, which was just 1 oz more than I needed for my 1/2 recipe. We ate a few and the rest went in the brownies.
  
• I baked my small pan for about 28 minutes.
  

Do you remember the Junior Mint episode of Seinfeld?

How it went: Aside from some chocolate chopping, which isn’t my favorite task, these were easy to put together. I lined the pan with foil and buttered it, but they still stuck to the foil! I could peel it off from the sides easily, but the bottom was pretty well stuck. Not baked-on stuck, but sticky-stuck. I don’t know for sure, but it seems like the melted candy made these extra-sticky.

How it tasted: My husband summed it up in a word: decadent. These were fudgy and delicious, and minty without being overpowering. But they were so darn sticky. I put half of them in the freezer to be chopped up and added to vanilla ice cream…I think they’ll be quite happy there!

Want the recipe? Look on page 103 of Baking: From My Home to Yours, or go to Karen’s blog, Welcome to Our Crazy Blessed Life; she’ll have the recipe published today.

This week’s Tuesdays with Dorie selection has been the subject of a lot of hoopla since at least last December, when Clara launched a campaign for the group to make White Chocolate Brownies. At long last, the recipe was selected by Marthe, who bakes her treats in the Netherlands.

What I did:

• I made 1/4 of the recipe in a 6″ round pan. And let me take a moment to say how handy it is to have 6″ round pans! I use them all the time when I’m reducing the size of a recipe.
• I used frozen raspberries, still frozen.
• I skipped the meringue topping. Meringue is one of those “it depends” kind of things for me, and this seemed like the kind of thing I wouldn’t enjoy it on.

How it went: This was easy enough to put together. A lot of bakers commented that they had to bake these a lot longer than stated in the recipe. Since I was making a small pan, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I started checking at 20 minutes and ended up baking it for 33 minutes, plus I increased the oven temperature by 25° for the last 8 minutes.

How it tasted: We both thought this was just OK. I thought this was much more like a cake than a brownie. My husband said he would like more raspberries. Maybe they needed the meringue, or something to replace the meringue? Maybe I should have made the optional raspberry coulis? Maybe I should have put a big ole scoop of ice cream on top?

Marthe will have the recipe posted today on her blog, Culinary Delights. You can also look on page 110 of Baking: From My Home to Yours. And for a little more (or a lot more) enthusiasm than I’m able to muster, check out what Clara has to say about this recipe!

Since July 2009, I have made six kinds of brownies, plus one bonus dessert using some brownies I had stashed in the freezer. (You can see the other five plus my brownie Baked Alaska here in my brownie category.) That’s a lot of brownies for me. Brownie number six is courtesy of Tanya from Chocolatechic. With a blog name like that, it was quite obvious that she’d select a chocolate recipe for us! In the book, Dorie explains that when she and Rick Katz were working on the set of the TV show Baking with Julia, Katz would bake goodies for them, including these brownies. She doesn’t say if Julia Child liked the brownies, but I bet that she did.

What I did:

• I made half the recipe and baked it in a 9.25″ x 5.25″ loaf pan.
• I used Baker’s unsweetened chocolate and Guittard 61% chocolate.

How it went: This recipe has an extra step or two than most other brownie recipes, notably beating half of the eggs and sugar and then folding them into the rest of the liquid ingredients. It was still easy to put together though. Even with the smaller pan, I baked these for the full amount of time. When the top looked dry, I took the pan out of the oven.

How it tasted: Super-chocolaty and really delicious! These had the perfect balance of sweetness and chocolate flavor for me. I didn’t try one with coffee, but I think it would be a perfect accompaniment. I thought these were a bit too soft, but they didn’t seem underbaked, and Dorie describes them as “surprisingly creamy, soft, and definitively fudgy,” so I think that’s just how they’re supposed to be. My husband ate one and declared it one of the best brownies he’d ever had. When I asked him to elaborate, he said that sometimes the brownie crust and brownie inside taste different, but with these, the good flavor was throughout. He also liked that they were moist but not overly dense. He really liked the Tribute to Katharine Hepburn Brownies, but in a head-to-head competition, I think these would win.

Would I make these again?: Yes. With all the brownies I’ve made since last July, I’ve discovered that my husband likes brownies a lot. Since he liked these so much, I think these will make an encore appearance in our kitchen! If you want to give these a spin, check Chocolatechic’s blog, or open your copy of Baking: From My Home to Yours to page 91.

How does a fudgy brownie, studded with dried cherries and chocolate chunks and topped with a layer of cream cheese-mascarpone mousse sound? It sounded pretty good to me, and it tasted even better!

This Cherry-Fudge Brownie Torte is the recipe baked by the Tuesdays with Dorie group this week. Thanks go to April of Short + Rose for selecting this week’s recipe! She’ll have the recipe posted on her site, or open your copy of Baking: From My Home to Yours to page 284.

What I did:

• I made 1/4 of the recipe. I often cut recipes in half, but hesitated to cut them down further because I didn’t know if they’d turn out. Thanks go to Megan, who gave me some tips and courage to reduce my recipes!
• I baked the brownie layer in two 4.5″ springform pans. I thought that my small amount would be enough for just one of the mini pans, but there was a lot of batter. Both pans were filled about halfway before baking.
• I did not add the black pepper to the brownie layer.
  
• I used blackberry fruit spread instead of cherry preserves. I needed such a tiny amount of preserves and didn’t want to buy a whole jar.

Side note: I bought two mini springform pans and this was my first time using them. So far they’re great! I’m glad I had the right kind of pan and didn’t try to make do with another type of pan.

How it went: I was concerned that I’d have trouble with my small amounts, but aside from getting a large amount of dishes dirty, this went smoothly. I would also like to note that I actually bought real cream to use in the mousse. I usually avoid the cream, but after a few recipes that didn’t turn out great, I decided to just deal with it and use the cream!

How it tasted: I’m in love with the brownie layer! It’s oh-so-fudgy and the chocolate bits make it even better. And the mousse on top is the icing on the cake, so to speak. It’s a delicious, creamy layer that is a great accompaniment to the brownie layer. My husband really liked this and couldn’t stop talking about the fabulous mousse on top. He did say he’d prefer it without the cherries. That’s fine with me; I could go either way with the cherries.

Would I make this again?: Yes; I’d make this but without the cherries. I’d also make just the brownie part, either to eat as-is, or to use in another brownie-based recipe.